Air tempering apparatus



Nov. 3, 1942. J. F. SHELJON 2,300,848

AIR TEMPERING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 30,1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 bm, um. Wm.N wm. s

, JE Shelan Nov. 3, 1942. J, F, sHEL'l-ON 2,300,848

un TEMPERING APPARATUS Filed Aug. so, 1959 s sheets-sheet 2 Il l im'lim/'Mamme JESheZ'an K NV- '3, J. F. sHEL-roN 2,300,848

AIR TEMPERING APPARATUS Shelm www/Yi? Patented Nov. 3, 1942 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE s AIR TEMPERING APPARATUS Jack Fenner Shelton,Memphis, Tenn.

Application August 30,1939, Serial No. 292,752

(C1. sis-'33) 6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in air tempering apparatus, thatis to say, it is concerned with apparatus for either heating the air fora dwelling or supplying cool air, one of the principles of the inventionbeing to perform either function depending upon its use in winter orsummer. This dual use has its economical aspects, but an essentialrequirement of the apparatus for the performance of the dual function isto locate said apparatus in the attic of-the house.

This is more than a mere reversal of the common plan of locating theheating or cooling apparatus in the basement and deriving the temperedair therefrom, because by use of a novel simple arrangement of dampersit becomes pos- .sible to use one blower both for winter and summer use,and in each instance to make the blower work very effectively to eitherheat or cool the rooms.

With this general survey in mind, attention is directed to the objectsof the invention which are as follows:

First, to provide an apparatus for tempering livered to the roomsthrough supply registers' adjacent to the ceiling and withdrawn throughreturn grilles adjacent to the floor.

Second, to utilize the basement (or the cellar or sub-ground floor spaceequivalents) as a plek-H num chamber in respect to the living rooms ofthe house for the supply of a large volume of cool air in the summer,said sub-space affording a costless source which can be drawn upon fordischarge into the rooms for a large part of the day or until thetemperature of the air in said sub-space is equal to the temperatureoutside of the house when there would be no necessity of operating theapparatus. Y

Third, Vto locate said apparatus in the attic thus to adapt the oneblower to the twin purposes of driving the heated air from around thefurnace into the rooms in the winter and exhausting the oppressivelywarm air from the rooms in the summer and driving it into the atticwhence it is discharged into the outer atmosphere at the same time toventilate said attic.

Fourth, to achieve the foregoing result by prodampers are capable of twosettings, first by one setting to direct the heated air by force feed ofthe blower into the main supply duct and thence to the rooms, the atticthen being shut off, second by the other setting to direct the air byforce feed of the blower into the attic thus producing a suction in theducts from the rooms.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification,reference being had y to the accompanying drawings, in which-v Figure lis a vertical cross section of a house, illustrating the embodiment ofthe improved air temperingapparatus wherein the tempering unit islocated in the attic. I

Figure 2vis a central vertical section of the tempering unitparticularly illustrating the single blower and the twin dampers.

Figure 3 is a detail elevation of one of the supply registers which isemplaced in the wall adjacent to the ceiling.

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken substantially on the line 4--4 ofFigure 3.

Figure 5 is a detail section of the sub-space air intake and'damper. A

.Figure 6 is a vertical section taken on the line 6-,6 of Fig. 5.

Figure 7 is a horizontal section taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 5.

- The invention is herein illustrated as embodied in the house I. This`house is of the bungalow type, but the invention is not limited to thisuse because its principles will Work just as well -if the apparatus isinstalled in a dwelling having two or more stories, a basement and anattic.' Adheringto the example given, the house l includes a floor 2, aceiling 3 andthe necessary side and partition walls 4, 5 defining anumber of rooms 6. The floor 2 is raised from the ground level "l byfoundations 8. The foundations usually include a surrounding wall withair vents. This arrangement defines an air space 9 which is herein knownas the sub-space because 'of its being below the rst oor and betweensaid floor' and the ground. Thus, it is conceivable that the sub-spacemight comprise a cellar or basement .which in most instances contain amore or less large Volume of relatively .cool air. Said subspace thusconstitutes a plenum chamber or reservoir of cool air. The air in saidsub-space is also relatively clean inasmuch as it is ordinarily A notina state of turbulence and a consequent viding twin dampers in thetempering unit, which vehicle for the-suspension of dust.

Said house also includes an attic I0. This part of the ordinary house,if accessible is mostly used as a storage space. In many instances theattic use is made of the attic I0 by setting up the air temperingapparatus II therein As previously pointed out this is a reverse of .thetime-honored practice of locating a similar apparatus in the sub-space9, especially if the latter comprises a basement .or cellar. Theapparatus II comprises a casing I2 (Fig. 2) which is surmounted by aplenum chamber I3. This chamber, as is common in heating apparatuses, isnothing more than a space in which a volume of air collects either priorto leaving the casing I2 or entering it.

The casing I2 contains a single blower I4. I

This blower can be of any preferred type. and it is usually motordriven. Said blower is revoluble in a housing I5. This housing `has asideair inlet I6 and an air outlet I1. The outlet is connected to a wallI3 which divides the casing I2 into air and furnace sections I 3, 20.Both of these sections are in direct communication with the plenumchamber I3. They can be placed in immediate communication across saidplenum chamber, but usually they communicate with each other through theblower housing I5 and around one of the dampers to which reference ispresently made.

A gas-fired unit 2I is located in the furnace section 20. No attempt hasbeen made herein to accurately picture said unit because any conceivabletype may be employed without affecting the principles of the invention.It is sufficient to say that the unit 2l is placed more or lesscentrally in the furnace section 2l so that when air from the blower I4is driven through the furnace section around said unit the air comes inimmediate contact with the unit and is heated to a high' degree. l

By way of a parenthetical statement note is made of the possibility ofsubstituting a cooler for the unit 2|. 'I'his cooler may comprise arefrigerating coil. The air blasts from the'blower I4 if circulatedaround the coil would be cooled just as successfully as it will Lwhencirculated around the hot unit 2|. The description is conned in itsreference to the unit 2I as a furnace unit, but the broad aspect of thelatter is that of a tempering unit changing the condition of the aireither to hot or cold depending upon the time of the year.

The casing I2 has an exhaust opening 22 (Fig. 2). This is in the form ofa throat that extends oil to one side of the casing I2 at or near itsbase. Said base is shown at 23, and it consists of a concrete slab whichis used, advisedly it is thought, to afford the proper insulationof theframing of the house against the conduction of heat from the furnaceunit 2| with the possibility of starting a vire. Said base is formed bypouring the concrete in a pan 24. This, however, is a detail which isnot necessarily adhered to because the base slab could be -precast andhoisted into position either in whole or in part.

A -main supply duct25 branches oil from the apparatus II at an openinginto the top of the plenum chamber I3. I'his duct has several branches26, generally of a somewhat reduced size, terminating in supplyregisters 21. Each of these registers is located in a side or partitionwall 4, 5 of the house close to the ceiling 3. These 75 registers couldbe located the ceiling but the l-wall location isk herein deemedpreferable.

Each side registerzl'-, (Figs. 3 and 4) is noth- `ingmore than theperforated cover of the terminalchamberj- 28 of the respective branch26. The register iscapable of being controlled by a damper 28.which ishinged atl 30' and has a lever 3I for its operation.A In practice thelever is de` sirably capableo'f-'being set in any one of severalpositions so that the damper 23 can be held either in afullyopen' orfully closed position,y or in positions intermediately thereof. I

A main return'air riser duct 32 is connected to another openinginto theplenum chamber I3 on the same level as the `duct 25 and usually,although not necessarily, on a line diametrically across. Said risergoes down vertically through the house, either being concealed in one ofthe partition walls or in a closet, ultimately come municating with asub-spacelateral 33 'that runs longitudinally of the house under thefloor 2. The junction chamber 34 (Fig. 5) between the riser 32 andlateral 33 has afresh air intake opening 35 which is in directcommunication with the sub-space 3. Said lateral 33 communicates withreturn grilles 33 either directly or through branches 31.

'lhese grilles are located in the side and partition walls close to thedoor. 'I'heir purpose, as their name implies, is to provide for theintake of air. This intake of air is induced by the blower I4. Thejunction chamber 34 is recessed at 33 (Fig. 5) to accommodate the hingepin 33 of the fresh air chamber 4l. y

Said chamber is movable either to the full or dotted line positions a, b(Fig. 5), or to any intermediate position such as c by means of a lever4I which is accessible from one of the rooms 3 of the house. To this endit passes through a floor plate 42 (Fig. 6) It is pivotedat43 to abracket 44, and has connection with a. crank 4.5 that extends off fromthe hinge pin 33. I'he means whereby the fresh air chamber 45 isactuated is not so essential. It can be made slidable in guides. Itsultimate purpose is to control the influx of air at the opening 35.

Of considerable importance is the twin damper arrangement in the casingI2. The two dampers, namely the top damper 43 and the bottom damper 41,are coupled by a link 43 so that the two will swing in unison on theirpivots 43, 5l when the actuating handle 5I is manipulated. The topdamper 43 has an attached slotted bracket 52 to which the link 43 isconnected by a thumb nut adjustment ss. similarly, the bottom damper 41has a slotted bracket 54 to which the link 48 is connected by a thumbnut adjustment 55. The obvious purpose of these adjustments is to takeup any undesired loose play between the two dampers. i

The free end of the top damper 45 is adapted to be seated in a rest 56(Fig. 2) which comprises an offset from the duct 25. 'I'he main purposeof the rest is to insure the location of the top dampers on a line belowthe bottom of the duct 25 so that there will be no diminution in thevolume of the latter when the damper assumes the dotted line position d.In reference to the handle 5I it is seen in Figure 2 that this has aslot 51 with whicha thumb nut adjustment 53 coacts for the securing ofthe handle in the selected position. If the damper 46 is down (positiond, Fig. 2) the damper 41 is also down (position e). Intermediatepositions are obtainable,

but usually the two dampers will either be way up or all the way down.

Reverting to the gas red unit 2| it is s en in Figure 2 that this has abridging chamber 59 to which a vent pipe 60 is connected. This vent pipeleads olf to the chimney 6 I. This can be anordinary chimney such aswould be supplied fora stove in the kitchen. 'I'he installation of theapparatus does not require the building of an extra chimney nor one ofan unusually large size. Also reverting to the construction of the houseI it is seen in Figure 1 that the attic I0 has communication with theouter atmosphere through louvers 62. In practice these can be closed.

It is desired to state that the manual operation of the fresh air damper40 and of the twin all the dampers 4B and 41 is not necessarily adheredto in practice. Arrangements are commonly in use for controlling thevarious units of a furnace by thermostatic means. A similar principlecan be employed for the control of these dampers, but inasmuch, asthermostatic controls are not new it is thought unnecessary tospecically illustrate the mode of such control of the dampers. It isthought suilicient to point out how the dampers are manipulated, themanner of control being left to choice in practice.

The Operation is readily understood. First consider the use of theapparatus in the winter. The furnace units 2l comprise a source of heat.The twin dampers 4s, 41 are ser in the fu11 line positions m Figure 2.Communication of the sections I9 and 20 is then had only through theblower housing I5. The blower I4 is set in operation. Inasmuch as theopening 22 is closed by the damper 41, the blast of air is necessarilydelivered to the section 20. It is heated here and is deflected into themain supply duct 25 by the top damper 46. Thence it is distributed tothe branches 26 and is delivered to -the rooms 6 by way of the supplyregisters 21 adjacent to the ceiling.

Said operation of the blower I4 creates a suction in the main riser 32.This draws the cooled air in at the return grilles 36. The damper 40 isadapted to be either totally closed (position b, Fig. or opened onlypart way (position c) so as to allow for the indraft of fresh air fromthe sub-space 9 to mix with the cooled air and thus keep the supply forthe rooms relatively fresh.

For day summer use the twin valves 46, 41 will be adjusted to the samefull line position (Fig. 2)

as for the winter use of the apparatus. All outside windows and doorsshould be shut. The fresh air damper 40 is now opened nearly all theway. In other words, it will be swung back' almost to the position a(Fig. 5). The blower I4 which circulated the hot air for winter use isnow used to circulate cool air for s ummer use.

The source of supply is derived from the ample volume which collects inthe sub-space 9 during the night. If the outside temperature is not toohot, this volume will last for a considerable portion of the day. It maybe made to last all day if the blower I4 is only operatedintermittently. In any event, the blower I4 starts up a suction in theriser 32 as before and blows the air under pressure through the section2lI into the ma'n supply duct 25. From there it passes into the branches2B and is delivered to the rooms .by'tbe supply registers 21. Inasmuchas the darn-per 40 (Fig. 5) is nearly al1 the way open, the constantsupply oi cool air is drawn from the subspace 9, assures a materialreduction in they temperature of the living rooms of the house. At

'air' by way of the lateral 33 and its branches v31.

For night use of the apparatus in the summer the twin dampers 46, 41 areshifted to the dotted line positions d, e (Fig. 2). The windows areopened so as to let in the cool night air. 'I'he blower I4 is set inoperation. This sets up a suction in fthe air section I9, but thissuction is now traced universally to the main supply duct 25 and itsbranches as well as to the riser 32 and its branches. Cool air is thusdrawn through lthe windows and into-both the registers 21 and grilles36.

This produces an artificial breeze through the rooms which eliminatesuse of electric fans. The air thus d wn in is discharged by the fan I4through th xhaust opening 22 into the attic. From thence the air isdriven through the louvers 62, and in doing so a thorough ventilationof'the attic occurs. The hot air previously entrapped in the atticduring the day is driven out, producing a cooling of the ceiling 3 and apleasant tempering of the house throughout.

The ventilation of the attic is not necessarily conned to the night.Theme may be times when one or more windows on the cool side of thehouse can be opened in the day time for an indraft of cool air lbyoperation of the blower I4, the latter then being made to exhaust intothe attic by having the twin dampers 46, 41 adjusted to thedotted'linepositions d, e. Any entrapped hot air will then be driven out of thelouvers 62,

serving both to cool the attic space and the voeil--l ing 3 of therooms.

It will be understood from the foregoing that neither a specially largefloor space nor basement are required for the installation of theapparatus. The attic does provide oor space but this is usually of amore or less waste character. It is important to bear in mind that theone blower I4 serves both for distributing hot air in the winter and ofcirculating cool air in the summer. This avoids the extra .cost of ablower for summer use.

The principle of discharging the heated air adjacent to the ceiling 3does not do violence to commonly accepted practice. According to thelatter the heated air is delivered to a room adjacent to the oor whenceit immediately rises toward the ceiling. By driving the heated air inthrough the supply registers 21 under pressure a layer is graduallybuilt up in the room which soonv reaches the door.

This act of discharging the heated air at the registers 21 creates apartial vacuum, continually forcing the accumulated heat from theceiling down to the floor level. The cooled air returns .by way of thegrilles and ducts,'and beca'se of the cooled air being continuouslyremoved from the floor level fresh warm air is continuouslypulleddownfrom the ceiling thereby creating a more uniform, heat fromthe ceiling to the floor in all rooms.

I claimz' 1. Air tempering apparatus for a house having a living roomand an attic,-air openingsA introduced into said room respectivelyadjacent to the ceiling" and floor thereof, a tempering unit located inthe attic having an exhaust opening `and at least two duct openings,said tempering 'unit including a suction chamber, a pressure chamber anda division wallseparating the two chambers, but for a connectingopeningin the\ connected with the other duct opening and the iioor airopening, a blower in said suction chamber being operable to set up anair current through the suction chamber and the pressure chamber, and apair of connected dampers respectively movably mounted contiguously tothe exhaust opening and to one of the duct vopenings, saidzdampers beingsettable with respect to their openings first to allow blower suction insaid one duct and its air opening and a pressure discharge into theother air opening and its duct, second to allow blower` suction infbothair openings and their ducts and 'a pressure discharge through theexhaust opening into the attic, the damper contiguous to the ductopening being so mounted in the division wall that it will connect saidduct with either the suction chamber or the pressure chamber.

2. Air tempering apparatus for a house having an attic with louvers anda living room with a window adapted to be closed and opened, airopenings introduced into said room respectively adjacent to the ceilingand iioor thereof, a temp ering unit located in the atticy having anexhaust opening directed into vthe attic and at least two duct openings,a duct having its respective ends connected with one of the ductopenings and the ceiling airopening,y another duct having its respectiveends connected with theV other duct opening and the iloor air opening,said tempering unit including a suction chamber, a pressure chamber anda division walll separating the two chambers, but for a connectingopening in the bottom thereof, a blower embodied in said suction chamberbeing operable to set up an air current through said chamber, and a pairof connected' dampers respectively m'ovably mounted contiguously to theexhaust opening and to one of the duct openings, said dampers beingsettable with respect to their openings, first to allow blower suctionin said one duct and its air opening and a pressure discharge into theother air opening and its duct with theI window and louvers closed,second to allow blower suction through the window when open and in bothducts through both ceiling and door openings and a pressure discharge atsaid exhaust opening into the attic and through said louvers when open,

the damper contiguous to the duct opening being so mounted in thedivision wall that it will connect said duct with either the suctionchamber or the pressure chamber.

3. Air tempering apparatus for a house having a living room and anattic, air openings introduced into said room respectively adjacent tothe ceiling and floor thereof, a tempering unit located in the attichaving an exhaust opening directed' into the attic and at least two ductopenings, a duct having its respective ends connectedwith one of theduct openings'and the ceiling air opening, another duct having itsrespective ends connected with the other duct opening and the floor airopening, said tempering unit including a suction chamber, a pressurechmber and a division wall separating the two chambers, but for aconnecting opening in the bottom thereof, a blower embodied in saidsuctionchamber for setting up Ian air current through said chambers, anda damper arrangement to control the orientation of said air current,consisting of one damper mov-v ably mounted at the air opening of one otsaid ducts and another damper movably mounted at the exhaust opening.said dampers being connected and adapted to two settings, iirst todivert the air current from the exhaust opening into said one 'duct fordischarge through the respective duct at the ceiling opening thereof andto allow blower suction in the other duct and at its floor opening,second to direct the pressure discharge from the blower through theexhaust opening to the attic and allow blower suction at each of eceiling and iloor openings from the room into bth ducts and back intothe unit. the damper contiguous to the duct opening being so y mountedin the division wall that it will connect said duct .with either thesuction chamber or the pressure chamber.

4. Air tempering apparatus for a house having a living room and anattic, air openings introduced into said room respectively adjacent tothe ceiling and floor thereof, a vtempering unit located in the atticconsisting of a suction chamber, a pressure chamber, a division wallseparating the two chambers but for a connecting opening in the bottomthereof, and a common plenum chamber, said chamber having at least twoducts leading vtherefrom and connected to the respective air openings,one of said chambers having an exhaust opening into the attic, a blowerdischarging into said pressure chamber and inducing suctio'n through thesuction chamber and plenum chamber, and a twin damper arrangementembodied in said unit and consisting of one damper controlling one ofsaid ducts at said plenum chamber and another damper controlling saidexhaust opening, said arrangement being capable of two settings, rst todivert the blower discharge through said pressure chamber into one ofthe ducts, shutting oil? the exhaust opening and inducing suctionserially through the plenum chamber and other duct, second establishingimmediate communication'of both ducts with the suction chamber acrosssaid plenum chamber and through the exhaust opening for a common airdischarge into the attic, the damper contiguous to the duct openingbeing so mounted in the division wall that it will connect said ductwith `either the suction chamber or the pressure A a bottom exhaustopening, at least two top ducts connecting the tempering unit to therespective air openings, an air intake opening in one of said ductsbeing in communication with said subspace, said tempering unit includinga suction chamber, a pressure chamber and a division wall separating thetwo chambers, but for a connecting opening in the bottom thereof, ablower embodied in said suction chamber for setting up an air currentthrough said chambers from one of the room openings and from saidsub-space air intake opening into the respective one of the ductsthereby to utilize said sub-space as a plenum chamber, the commingledair being discharged into the other duct and thus again into the room,and a damper arrangement embodied in said unit including a top damperadjacent to one of the top ducts, being adapted to be set to allow theblowerindraft from both ducts and Openings into the unit. and a bottomdamper acacent to said exhaust opening being adapted to be set to allowa. discharge o! the blower pressure through said discharge opening intothe attic thereby to ventilate the attic.

6. Air tempering apparatus for a house having an attic and a living roomwitha sub floor space, air openings introduced into said roomrespectively adjacent to the ceiling and iloor thereof, a duct extendingfrom the ceiling opening, a supply duct into which said ceiling openingduct merges, a duct extending from the floor opening,

a return riser with which said iioor opening duct scribe an air outletfrom the housing to the other section, said other section having anexhaust opening directed into the attic space, a tempering elementsituated in said other section, twin dampers respectively pivoted inreference to the wall and in reference to the exhaust opening, saiddampers being connected for simultaneous movement, means for adjustingthe dampers at either of two settings, rst to shut the exhaust openingand divert the blower pressure through the second section to said supplyduct thereby to induce blower suction in said riser, second to open theexhaust opening for a blower discharge into the attic and to shut oilthe second sectionvat the top, thereby to commonly connect the supplyduct and riser with each other across the plenum chamber, and a dampersituated in the junction chamber for selectively controlling the airintake opening at either of the settings of the twin dampers.

JACK FENNER SHELTON.

